Deshpande Skilling helps Govt fight Covid-19

It was July 2020 and a crisis was brewing in the district of Dharwad. The number of Covid-19 positive cases was rising alarmingly with each passing day and threatening to exceed the capacity of the healthcare system. The Government hospitals in Dharwad and Hubbali cities which were designated Covid-19 hospitals were running out of beds. In response to this situation, the Government decided to handle symptomatic and asymptomatic patients differently. While the symptomatic patients would get receive treatment at the designated COVID-19 hospitals, the asymptomatic patients were to be monitored and treated at COVID Care Centres to be set up in the different districts.

The district administration identified large hostels of colleges and universities to be designated as COVID Care Centres to manage the crisis. The skilling campus of Deshpande Foundation with a 1600 bed hostel and which is located outside the city limit was identified as a ready and ideal facility by the local administration. Deshpande Foundation identified the situation as a once in a century crisis and decided to offer the facility to the district administration for use as a COVID Care Centre.

The centre emerged as North-Karnataka’s largest COVID Care Centre for asymptomatic positive patients. The district administration offered free services to the patients following all C-19 protocols that included frequent monitoring and medication along with quarantine from the community. Karnataka’s Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and District in-charge Jagadish Shettar inaugurated the Covid-19 Care Centre, which could easily accommodate anywhere between 800 to 1,000 patients.

While addressing the media during the inauguration, the Minister said the district administration had offered beds, pillows and bedsheets at the facility. Patients were also offered soap, oil, brush and other toiletries. This aside, provision had also been made for recreation. The Deshpande Foundation would even be offering varied online talent improvement coaching, he mentioned.

Between the third week of July and the first of October, a total of 683 Covid-19 positive patients were admitted to the facility. Out of these, 171 were women and 512 were men. Deshpande Foundation is glad that its resources could be deployed for the service of the community and avoided a crisis of patients not finding free beds for treatment. Deshpande Foundation had also provided technical support and assistance to the District Administration to set up the Technology Infrastructure for the District Central COVID Control Room.

Currently, at Deshpande Skilling Centre we have 400 + students who had come from various districts of Karnataka and some from Telangana. All the precautionary measures were taken at the campus to ensure the safety of the students and staff of Deshpande Skilling. We abide by the safety guidelines and continue to transform the lives of youths through skilling.